Why nobody talks crap about Holmes resume

A lot of people talked crap about Holmes's resume in his day, but time seems to have been kind to him.

One thing that you would have to acknowledge in defense of Holmes's resume is it's depth.

He beat more fighters ranked in the top ten then any other heavyweight, excluding Joe Louis and Muhammad Ali.

That alone gives you an argument for his resume being better than Fury's, Bowe's, and even Klitschko's.

 

Who could he have fought in his era that he didn't? Did he ever duck anyone? I'm literally asking, I'm pretty well versed on Holmes and the era, but not an expert. I know he fought some no hopers, but I don't think he was ever really accused of ducking anyone.

 

Holmes? Heck, I can't think of any fighter ever in history who hasn't had his record torn apart bit-by-bit LOL.

 

How so? In instances like this I like to play the five best wins game.

Who are Tyson's 5 best wins?

Who are Holmes 5 best wins?

Out of those 5 names, who has the more impressive wins?

Sure, it has some flaws, but it's a pretty good start when comparing resumes, I think.

Welcome to the forum.

 

Homes - Cooney, Witherspoon, Mercer, Shavers, Norton

Tyson - Holmes, Spinks, Bruno, Ruddock, Berbick

The pros for Tyson are he beat Holmes (an old Holmes, but still) and destroyed Spinks, who beat Holmes twice, narrowly. Holmes resume wins on my card because of how long he was champ and how many recognizable names (to us, at least) that he beat. But, even putting it down on paper I can see why people could be more impressed by Tyson's resume, especially when it includes a head to head win, and destroying the man that beat your resume opponent in record fashion.

 

That is probably down to how they were perceived at the time.

Holmes was given comparatively little credit in his own time, so there was a reaction against that in later years, which might have gone too far.

Tyson was built up into a wrecking machine in his own time, so there was a reaction to that in later years, which might also have gone too far.

In both cases the truth probably lies somewhere between.

 

Not sure Ruddock was much to brag about...

 

Holmes has gotten a fair amount of criticism both here and elsewhere.

 

Greg Page

 

Not sure Shavers is either.

 

He beat more than Charles? Thought Charles had like 25 wins